Could A 367-Horsepower BMW Z5 Be The Next Toyota Supra?

We’ve known for some time now that Toyota and BMW are teaming up for a high-tech new sports car, but now we’re seeing a few very interesting rumors eke out into the German press. Namely they’re reporting a new BMW, possibly called the Z5, could share a platform with a revived Toyota Supra. Say what?

According to Digital Trends, “The Z5 will reportedly adopt a more radical front mid-engine layout for better weight distribution, and there will be less of that weight to distribute”.

The luxury roadster will reportedly be powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder engine, but like its predecessor will also be available in a 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine. An ‘M’ version housing the BMW M3’s twin-turbocharged inline-six cylinder engine is another possibility.

Back in 2013 BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer, said the successor to the Z4 would be built on a new sports car platform.

“If the Z4 has a successor, it could be part of a new sports car architecture from BMW.”

The Z5’s performance is rumored to be between 211 and 367 horsepower. Though we know the engine will be built by BMW, where the cars will be built has yet to be determined…

We’d love to see the Z5 boast more than 367 horsepower to make it a legitimate competitor to Nissan’s super-impressive GT-R, but for now we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens.

The engine will be built by BMW, but where the cars will be built has yet to be determined, the newspaper says. They also say it will be a pure two-seat sports car with rear-wheel drive. And here’s what they say about the hybrid components (pardon the Google Translate clunkiness):

«In addition, a hybrid eDrive is called, an integral part of the sports car development.Unlike current plug-in hybrids, the electric motor in the BMW-Toyota sports car is tuned for performance.The continuous power is 136 hp in the current situation, in the short-term power mode are 204 hp available, «writes the Journal.

As always, you should take this news with a gulp of salt, but considering how long we’ve known about the BMW-Toyota partnership, I think we may be able to expect something concrete soon. I like the idea of BMW building the engine because that could mean the Supra (if that’s what they call it, and I hope they do) will keep its famed inline-six setup.

A performance-oriented hybrid is probably a wise choice here too, considering the way things are going with cars at the top like LaFerrari and the McLaren P1. I’d love to see this Z5/Supra have more than 367 horsepower to make it a legit Nissan GT-R competitor, but we’ll see what happens.

It’s kind of interesting that if this Z5/Supra gets made it will be the second time in recent years Toyota has farmed out development of their sports cars to another company. After all, the Scion FR-S/Toyota GT86 was engineered and is built by Subaru.

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